My lenses feel hazy or filmy after a few weeks. What's wrong?

Soft lenses pick up deposits as they age:

• Protein from tears — clears with surfactant rub or enzymatic cleaner.
• Lipid from sebum and meibomian glands — clears with longer rub-and-rinse, or peroxide systems.
• Calcium from very dry eyes or smoking environments — harder to remove, often signals lens replacement.
• Makeup and cosmetics — the easiest to prevent (insert lenses before makeup) but the hardest to remove once embedded.

If extended rub-and-rinse doesn't fully restore clarity, the lens has reached the end of its useful life. Don't wear past the expiry of the box or past the manufacturer's replacement schedule. Cloudy vision is itself a quality-of-life issue and dirty lenses raise infection risk.

If new lenses cloud up within 2–3 days, the cause may be:

• Dry eye depositing rapidly.
• A reaction to MPS preservatives — switch to peroxide.
• Cosmetic ingredients — review your eye-area products.